Father's Home Work

Rajesh was teasing, as usual, his friends on the school bus. He came to Priya and was making fun of her frozen Tiffen box. He tells them they are grown-up once they moved to the fifth standard. He teased her by making baby noises, "kucchi, kucchi, lelele, lelele". Priya went to Raghavi for help. Raghav was the tough one in the group. Rajesh went back to his seat when he saw Priya approaching Raghavi. But, Raghavi was unusually quiet that morning on the school bus. Priya tried asking her what was wrong. She, however, did not respond. But Priya noticed Raghavi was sad.

Once in school, the teacher asked all the students to bring their homework. Raghavi said she did not do her homework. The teacher exclaimed, "Only when the pigs fly". The teacher walked over to Raghavi and asked what happened. Something triggered Raghavi, and she started to cry. The teacher was surprised as Raghavi was usually a strong girl and was a hard nut to crack. The teacher gave the rest of the class some classwork and took Raghavi out to calm her down.

Raghavi stopped crying after a few minutes. When the teacher saw Raghavi was feeling a little better, she asked if she was ready to talk. Raghavi nodded to say "Yes".

"What happened? Are you crying cos you did not write your homework?" asked the teacher.

"Not just that, me madam. For many days I was not getting a chance to spend time with my Dad. When you gave us homework to ask questions about my Dad's work and his day, I was delighted. I built castles in the air in the hope of spending time with my Dad."

"Okay, then what happened?"

 "I was waiting for my Dad to come home all evening. He came late at night, and I ran to him and told him about the homework. Hoping he will sit to help me with homework. But he just ignored it. When I asked again a little later after dinner, he got very angry with me."

The teacher trying to comfort Raghavi, said, "Is that all?"

Raghavi was surprised by the teacher's response.

"Your father might be busy and under pressure. I know him well. Whenever he comes for parents teachers meet, he never has any complaints about you. He wants you to enjoy your education. He is trying to give you a good education paying lots of fees. You should work hard and aim to reach for the stars. A small disturbance, and you cannot start crying. There is an idiom don't cry over spilt milk. You know the meaning, right?" asked the teacher.

Raghavi was not completely okay, but she felt better when she heard comforting words from the teacher. After all, what a child needs is a comforting word. The rest of the day in school went by as a breeze. Starting her journey home and getting on the bus, the feeling of sadness came back to her. 

When she reached home and got down off the bus, she had the best surprise. It was her father who came home early to say sorry to her and help with homework. Raghavi acting cool as a cucumber, lied to her Dad. She said that day's homework was to stick as many varieties of chocolate wrappers in the activity book. Her Dad knew she was trying to deceive him into buying chocolates. But he obliged her anyway. It is not that her Dad was saying sorry to her by getting her chocolates. He wants to see her beaming with joy when she picks the chocolates she wants.